The Chinese Government has launched a probe into the failure of Yichun Luming Mining Co Ltd tailings storage facility which saw contaminated water sources more than 100 kilometres downstream of a mine.
The probe by China’s mining regulator, the Ministry of Emergency Management and China’s Environmental Regulator, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will examine why 2.53 million cubic metres of waste had been discharged from the tailings storage facility at the Molybdenum mine. Reports say that petroleum-based flotation agents were discovered at least 110km downstream reaching levels 1.74 times permissible levels
Yichun Luming Mining, a subsidiary of state-run China Railway Resources Group. The Lu Ming project is the largest open-pit molybdenum mine in China.
The mine has a reported capacity of 50,000 tons per day and 15 million tons of raw ore per year. It can produce 22,500 tons of molybdenum concentrate (51%), 4,950 tons of copper concentrate (16%) and 75,300 tons of sulfur concentrate (45%).
This latest tailings storage facility incident lies in the wake of a number of past disasters including Vale’s Brumadinho disaster that claimed hundreds of lives. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ne85GPdIrQ[/embedyt]
Urgent action required on Tailings Storage
With more than 8000 reported tailings storage facilities, China has explored little regarding the extent of potential risks. While groups like the ICMM have committed to transparency associated with TSF, China and its’ vast array of companies have not.
World TSF Incidents
International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), a London-based industry group representing 27 major mining companies, formed an independent panel of experts in charge of developing global standards for tailings facilities.
Originally published by AMSJ.
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Decipher is designed to provide you with key data and insights, enabling you to effectively monitor your TSF and your environmental obligations and compliance. Our solution can be securely accessed by industry, regulators, designers and operators involved in the management of TSFs. Decipher offers a comprehensive and functionally rich solution which combines regulatory (Compliance Management Software), mining waste management, stakeholder engagement, environmental monitoring, and environmental management system (EMS) tools to assist with tailings management:
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Monitor land movement with remote sensing and InSAR datasets
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Upload and reference key documentation
Visualise facilities across multiple sites in a single screen on a geospatial map
Monitor your facilities with InSAR, LiDAR, DEM and more
Capture a wide range of monitoring data and indicators such as surface and groundwater, decant pond water levels and quality, and embankment conditions
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Action and task delegation for data collection with reminders
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Manage and engage with all of your stakeholders with one central repository
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Forecast, plan and track your sites activities using IBM’s Weather data
Create corporate report templates and meet requests for data provision from industry groups such as ICMM, Global Tailings Portal, PRI and UNEP
Integration capability with third party systems or public portals such as the Global Tailings Portal
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Decipher is designed to provide you with key data and insights, enabling you to effectively monitor your TSF and your environmental obligations and compliance. Our solution can be securely accessed by industry, regulators, designers and operators involved in the management of TSFs. Decipher offers a comprehensive and functionally rich solution which combines regulatory (Compliance Management Software), mining waste management, stakeholder engagement, environmental monitoring, and environmental management system (EMS) tools to assist with tailings management:
